


Invisible Helper

by Listentothelittlebird



Series: Code Bat [19]
Category: Batman and the Outsiders (Comics), Batman and the Signal (Comics)
Genre: Barbara is enjoying the show, Duke gets his own team, Gen, He’s going to use Lark, Jeff is wondering who Duke is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28010208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Listentothelittlebird/pseuds/Listentothelittlebird
Summary: Duke was in the area, so naturally, Oracle called on his help on behalf of Black Lightning.Jeff just wanted to do a recon.
Relationships: Duke Thomas & Bruce Wayne
Series: Code Bat [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964452
Comments: 36
Kudos: 471





	Invisible Helper

Black Lightning was just planning to do a recon: get in, get a feel of the operation, get out.

Except he had no idea the operation included smuggling children, and there was no way in hell he was leaving until he could get to them.

Jeff shifted slightly, wincing at the ache already forming from crouching in his hidden position for so long. He was really getting too old to do these things on his own. He hated that he was even starting to see himself as old, but it was probably true.

Why did he turn down help from his fellow Outsiders, again?

Jeff sighed and activated his comms.

“Oracle?” he murmured hesitantly, because the green-screened voice was always there, even when he had his doubts. He knew he was not the only one to be mildly unnerved by this all-seeing source of information and communication - some people still had their doubts about it being an actual person. 

Personally, Jeff could not completely rule out the possibility that Oracle could be a computer programme. 

Sure enough, his comm crackled to life. “How can I help, Black Lightning?” Oracle chimed, straight to the point, all business. Jeff would be immensely intimidated if he ever met this person - whoever they were.

“Do you have anyone you can send my way?” Jeff cut straight to it as well, because he knew Oracle kept tabs on the locations of superheroes, “There’s a few kids in here - I can’t bust the operation without one of them getting hurt.”

A beat of silence, then, “There is one person,” Oracle mused, “But you won’t see him, trust me. Just go ahead and deal with the operators, and he’ll take care of the children.”

Jeff frowned, but who was he to question Oracle’s sources? If he - she? - they claimed that someone could get the job done, then who was he to turn down another hand?

He also wondered who the person could be. He was in a pretty rundown part of Metropolis, after all. All the Supers were busy with whatever crisis it was that had made the news just an hour ago. Whoever this was, they had to be either new to the job, or extremely low-profile. Hell, maybe they were both. 

Jeff waited until the nearest thug’s back was turned before he shot a bolt of lightning at the man’s feet. It came out more forceful than he had expected, his eyes widening slightly as the bolt made a very loud and noticeable explosion in the middle of the warehouse. 

He dropped down and kicked a guy in the head on his descent. Might as well take down as many people as he could, before they came to their senses. 

Jeff threw an electrified punch, and confirmed that yes, his hits were packing more force than usual, the electricity stunning the man rather than causing a mild shock. Thankfully, Jeff had enough control over his powers to not severely injure any of them. He quickly adapted to his amped-up powers and managed to subdue the men in record time.

He turned towards where the children had been, but they were already completely vacated from the warehouse. Jeff went about tying up the unconscious crooks, wondering exactly who this newcomer was.

“Incoming from the front!” was shouted through his comms, and Jeff jolted at the unfamiliar voice. He had expected… an older voice. Yet, despite the static, he knew that the person who had spoken was young. The doors to the warehouse swung open, and Jeff swore as he ducked under a renewed onslaught of gunfire.

“Close your eyes,” was the next words from his mysterious helper, before he heard the same voice shout from outside the warehouse doors, “Hey, losers!”

Jeff had barely shut his eyes before a bright light illuminated their otherwise dim surroundings. It was somehow even worse than a flash-bang, and he was left blinking away the after-images even as one-sided fighting erupted around him.

By the time Jeff managed to sock one person in the face and look around, his assistor had already taken down the rest and conveniently disappeared. 

“You still there, kid?” Jeff called hesitantly, even as he checked the surprisingly well-done restraints on the men. However the youth had learned to do this, he was good.

“Uh, yeah,” was the careful reply through his comms. The boy cleared his throat, “I mean, yes, Black Lightning, I’m still here.”

Jeff huffed. Definitely a teen.

“The police will be arriving soon,” the boy informed him, “I left the kids out in an open area; they’ll be the first people the police find. You should have enough time to leave.”

“Thanks,” Jeff nodded to the air, although he did not know whether the boy was watching, “Well done, by the way. Do I get to see you?”

“Sorry, but no,” was the sheepish reply, “I’m… not in my usual fighting gear, right now.”

Which meant the kid had gone up against the men without proper protection or gadgets, and had still won the fight. The boy must have sensed Jeff’s astonishment, because he proceeded to add, “I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Being a meta is pretty cool.”

A powerful and young meta, who had insane stealth and fighting to boot. Where did Oracle get this guy? “Do I at least get a name?” Jeff questioned curiously.

A pause, and then, “Lark. Call me Lark.”

“Lark, huh,” Jeff mused, running through all the younger superheroes that he knew. None of them went by that name. “You must be new to this gig. Are you planning on joining a team?”

“I- what?” was the intelligent response. Jeff laughed outright.

“I mean, I’ve just never thought about it,” was the rushed answer, “I’m still learning more about my powers, and well, I don’t think I’d really fit in with any of the current teams. They’re all already established, and I’d just be an unpredictable variable.”

An outsider, eh?

“My team thrives on being an unpredictable variable,” Jeff chose to reply, “Why don’t we keep this comm line open between us? I could use your help again, some day in the future. Then maybe a few rounds down the line, I might get to see you. And I might offer you a slot on the Outsiders, if I feel you’re ready for it.”

A stunned silence ensued. “Okay,” Lark whispered meekly. Then, stronger, “Okay. I’ll see you around.”

“See you around,” Jeff agreed, and cut his comms. Time to pitch the idea of a new team member to the others. 

~

“Holy shit,” Duke murmured to himself, when he was finally back at his safehouse. 

Correction: back at one of the Bats’ safehouses. As Duke had quickly learnt, any safehouse purchased among the family was fair game for the rest, so long as none of them brought their superhero teams along with them. They had to explicitly mention to the rest whenever they choose to bring their friends to any location, so that the others could avoid accidentally exposing Code Bat by, say, appearing at the safehouse looking for cereal. 

Oracle - Babs - laughed through the comms. “Sending you was a good decision,” she stated in clear satisfaction, “You managed to get yourself some reputation outside of Gotham, plus a tentative offer to join the Outsiders. Although, Lark? Seriously?”

“Hey, at least I didn’t say, like, Bird or something,” Duke groaned, “But holy crap, that just happened, right? I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“No, you’re not,” Babs confirmed amusedly. 

Duke flopped onto his lumpy second-hand couch with a deep sigh. He had indeed just taken down a whole gang operation wearing a domino mask, his old Robin jacket and hiking pants. He had been wearing body armour underneath that, at least. 

He had kept his Signal armour in the safehouse, since the suit was technically still his Gotham uniform, and in case anything went sideways in Metropolis, he would rather not be stuck with having to redesign another suit to use at home.

He had tracked the child-traffickers all the way from Gotham, and had intended to take care of them himself that night. He had never considered the possibility that _Black Lightning_ would stumble upon them, himself. Which was stupid, because he knew the guy was from Metropolis. It was his home turf. 

Holy heck, he just talked to Black Lightning… and he had sounded like an absolute idiot. 

“By the way,” she added enthusiastically, “I sent the recording of the conversation to B. He knows.”

“Traitor,” Duke groaned, but he was silently glad that he need not explain the situation to his mentor. That was one thing out of the way, at least.

Now he just had to make sure his… siblings… did not overreact. Duke felt like they would throw him a party if he left them be, just for the hell of it. 

“A word of advice,” Babs seemed to have read his thoughts, “Let the others fuss over you - they’ll probably want a hand in designing your new uniform for use outside of Gotham. We often forget to celebrate the good things, so let them have this.”

Duke had sat through a whole night of stories from the family. He had heard of the crazier, funnier stories, things like them messing around with their teammates and each other - but that night, that night was for the somber tales. The stories that were never spoken of, but hung over everyone like haunting ghosts.

Duke would give anything to let his new family have a bit of happiness - even if it was daunting to be the centre of attention.

“Just make sure they don’t make Discowing 2.0,” Babs signed off, and Duke barked a laugh as she disconnected from the line.

He ended up making a suit of armour where the yellow was replaced with a less-identifiable brown, the white wing pattern remaining on his chest without the ears of the bat. His new set of escrimas sticks were black, the hooked blades at the end still sporting their vaguely bat-wing shape, because he had looked Bruce straight in the eye and he had remained silent, and Duke took that as consent.

“You could have come up with a better name,” was all Bruce had to say, and Duke saw the twitch of his lips and grinned back.

“Yeah, well, your name is Batman,” Duke teased, and he nearly stopped, but then Bruce smiled, and he continued, “You needed physical inspiration for that, as well. A cave full of bats. Else you would’ve named yourself something completely different.”

Bruce shrugged, and touched a hand to Duke’s shoulder, an unspoken approval of… of Duke, he guessed. Duke smiled and allowed himself to lean into the touch, just slightly.

**Author's Note:**

> I don’t actually know much about the Outsiders, oops
> 
> Look out for the next fic, which will be really early on in the series! (Meaning, it will appear as part 2 of the series when it releases)
> 
> I love messing with canon :D


End file.
